Issue no 819 - 18th March 2016
Top Story
Nigeria’s Making the Switch to VoIP – The African data future starts to become a reality
Everything in Africa’s telecoms sector will become data. The question is not if but when and how. Nigeria has begun to take some steps that will begin to accelerate that process. Russell Southwood spoke to Jude Chukwuma, CTO, Interconnect Clearing House Nigeria about how its own equipment strategy throws light on that data future. On the last report we did on VoIP in Africa, we identified a process of transition to VoIP that started with international traffic using VoIP and then cascades down to data connections at the national level. This would then be followed by metronet voice data connections…
Telecoms
Liberia: Lonestarcell Responds to Call Monitoring Allegation
Monrovia — The management of LoneStarCell MTN has denied allegation by Representative Acarous Moses Gray (CDC-District#8 Montserrado County) that Mr. Benoni Urey political leader of the All Liberian Party (ALP)…
Telecoms
MTN Cote d’Ivoire begins network migration amid rumours ARTCI will revoke 2.5GHz spectrum
MTN Cote d’Ivoire is in the process of migrating users of its 2.5GHz WiMAX service onto the 800MHz spectrum band, ICT4Africa reports, citing official company correspondence. The formal switchover will…
Telecoms
Nigeria: MTN Pleaded for the Reversal of Suspension Order on Regulatory Services, Says NCC
Facts have emerged as to why the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) decided to lift the ban on the suspension of regulatory services it imposed on MTN last year, based on…
Internet
The wait for Africa’s top level domain continues as legal wrangles tie up the launch of dotAfrica
The fight over who will manage the .africa top level domain continues as DotConnectAfrica, a Nairobi-based organization has gone to court to undo the decision to give South Africa’s ZA…
Internet
This Kenyan writer is using the internet to get others to read African fiction
Magunga Williams, or ‘The Real G’, as he would like to be known, is a proficient writer. His blog has been nominated for several awards, and his writing has appeared…
Internet
March 17, 2016 Launching of Internet Exchange Point in Madagascar
With the support of the African Internet Exchange System (AXIS) Project of the African Union Commission (AUC), the IXP in Madagascar will be officially launched on 17 March 2015. The…
Internet
Nigeria: 97 million Internet users depend on GSM operators
More than 97 million subscribers who surf the Internet in the country depend on digital mobile operators deploying GSM communications technology, the Nigerian Communications Commission has said. The NCC, which…
Internet
Morocco to host copy of L-Root DNS root name server
African internet registry Afrinic and Moroccan telecom regulator Anrt have signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate the deployment of a copy of the L-Root DNS root name server in…
Computing
Uganda: Hackers Strike Bank of Uganda Accounts, Try to Steal U.S.$24
However some monies of the money that had successfully been wired to Hong Kong and UAE was retrieved through inter-bank procedures, the latest being $8 million (Ushs27 billion) transferred on…
Computing
Vodafone Ghana Hackathon to focus on Mobile Money Apps
Vodafone Ghana is set to launch its annual Hackathon event this month to empower and promote the growing App developer community in Ghana. The three-day programme, in its second year,…
Money Transfer
MTN Makes Govt Services Payable Through Mobile Money
MTN Rwanda and RwandaOnline Platform Limited (ROPL) have launched a service which enables MTN customers to pay government services using Mobile Money. The services are through the Irembo e-Government platform,…
Money Transfer
Ghana: MTN Mobile Money Customers Soon To Earn Interest
Mobile Money customers of telecommunications giant MTN could soon earn interest on monies left in their wallets should discussions with partner banks prove successful, Ebenezer Asante, Chief Executive Officer MTN…
Money Transfer
Money transfers enabled from US to Nigeria
A leading digital money transfer provider has announced its expansion of services to Africa, making it easier for people in the United States to securely send money to Nigeria. Xoom…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Vodafone rumoured to win Zambia mobile concession
UK-based telecoms giant Vodafone Group is rumoured to have been awarded a mobile network operator licence to operate in Zambia, according to ITWeb Africa. Citing a source close to the…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
TED invests in South African tech startup, Eduze
Eduze, a South African tech startup, has announced it has signed a partnership with, and secured investment from TED, a platform for ideas worth spreading.The details of the partnership and…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
M4JAM's future is uncertain
M4JAM urges users to cash out all money on the micro-jobbing platform before the end of March. M4JAM urges users to cash out all money on the micro-jobbing platform before…
Digital Content
South Africa: A Phone APP for Pregnant Teens?
Just over one in 10 South African girls fall pregnant while still in their teens. The vast majority of these pregnancies are unplanned and can have serious consequences for the…
Digital Content
Social Issues Put Under the Spotlight from New African Blogger Awards Categories
The third annual African Blogger Awards competition that opened for entries in mid-February has announced three new categories for social and digital influencers across the African continent. The new categories…
Digital Content
Using drones to save lives in Malawi
It started with an aeroplane journey back in 2014. "I knew nothing about drones," says Judith Sherman, the head of HIV for the UN children's fund, Unicef, in Malawi. But…
Digital Content
Netizen Report: Uganda and Nigeria Seek Stricter Controls for Social Media
Global Voices Advocacy's Netizen Report offers an international snapshot of challenges, victories, and emerging trends in Internet rights around the world. On the heels of a forced social media shutdown…
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Events
Education Innovation Summit17 March 2016 Protea Fire & Ice, Johannesburg. South Africa Education reform is essential to provide learners with what are commonly called 21st century skills — those competencies…
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Opportunities
C4DLab announces Young Innovators Forum The University of Nairobi’s innovation hub C4DLab has announced the launch of a bi-annual event aimed at building a community of student innovators, with the…
